In photos, as in life, sometimes being out of focus is o.k.

We recently celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary by cycling along the Donauradweg (Danube Cycle Path) between Passau, Germany and Vienna, Austria. At the end of our fourth day on the road, we arrived in Melk after getting a late start in Grein where we had replaced the hard narrow saddles on our rental bikes with wide cushy saddles from a small bike shop located on the Kreuznerstrasse. The new saddles enabled us to cycle comfortably for long stretches of time and helped cushion the blow of us losing our way in the dark while we were en route to Melk. We realized that we had taken a wrong turn when the well-maintained bike path gave way to gravel and grass. Our unintentional detour added a couple of kilometers (about a mile) to our journey. Thanks to my new bike seat, I cycled this extra distance without complaint – it was worth every penny to me and Scott! Most cyclists hit the Donauradweg at dawn so that they may arrive at their destinations by mid-afternoon. Thus, getting lost while pedaling along the Danube River during the day is nearly impossible as the route is well-marked. Getting lost in the dark is still rather difficult, but we managed to do so.

We were standing on a bridge when I took this photo of the Stift Melk (Melk Abbey). It was raining, and I was tired after a long day of cycling. Nearby, a campground full of teenagers partied on despite the rain. As Scott consulted Google Maps to confirm the route that we would take to our hotel, I did my best to keep my camera dry as I took photos of the abbey. The Stift Melk was founded in 1089, when Leopold II, Margrave of Austria donated a castle (which was later destroyed by fire) to Benedictine monks. The abbey’s architecture “went for Baroque” between 1701 and 1736.